At a fall reunion session titled “Downshifting Your Career or Just Changing Direction?” panelist Michael Jeans shared a startling World Health Organization prediction: In the United States today, those who are healthy when they reach age 50 have an even chance of living to 100. “But even if you don’t believe you will reach the century mark,” noted Jeans, “the point is that you need to take the long view when you consider what to do with the latter portion of your career.”

The vice president of New Directions, Inc., a Boston-based outplacement firm, Jeans was joined on the panel by executive coach and career management consultant Warren Radtke and by Thomas J. Tierney (MBA ’80), the former chief executive of Bain & Company and founder and chairman of the Bridgespan Group, which helps bring leading-edge management practices to nonprofit ventures. In discussing the options available to seasoned MBAs, the experts urged career downshifters to begin any transition by doing what Jeans described as “some personal R&D.”

“You should try to look at what it is in your current work that makes you feel most alive,” Radtke elaborated. “Whatever you decide to do next, that’s the feeling you want to sustain.” Once that internal motivation is identified, the transition to a new role — whether in the corporate world or in areas such as academia, government service, or the nonprofit sector — can still be tricky. “As an MBA, you have an incredibly rich skill set,” observed Tierney, “but it’s important to go into your next career with your eyes wide open.”

To optimize the chances for a smooth transition, panelists offered the following advice:

Make a life plan. Take an honest look at the future and write down what you want to accomplish.

Build qualifications; lay down a parallel track. Try volunteer work as a way to explore and gain visibility in an area that interests you.

Move toward something, not away. Look for an opportunity to grow rather than an escape.

Think about companies or organizations that will see you as the two-legged solution to their problem.

Consider changing the way you work, not the work itself. Your goal may be to gain increased flexibility and a better balance between professional and personal pursuits.

Networking and serendipity play a huge role. Who you know doesn’t matter as much as who knows about and thinks highly of you and your skills.

Panelists cautioned that those who are used to corporate perks often underestimate the challenges associated with work in other fields. “You need to be realistic about the degree of difficulty,” stressed Tierney. “In nonprofits, for instance, lack of resources and capital are usually the norm. You will likely be managing people who are motivated by passion and commitment, not ambition or money. It’s an environment that can be hugely rewarding, but you need to be prepared to do your own typing.”

— Deborah Blagg

Visit the Alumni Career Services Web site at www.alumni.hbs.edu/careers/careers.html or contact Christine Sullivan, director of Alumni Career Services, at 617-496-1153.

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